The present invention relates to latches or bolts used in doorways, and, more particularly, to a flush bolt mechanism used in connection with a double door as the latch mechanism mounted on the door that normally remains closed.
Flush bolt mechanisms are used on what is normally termed the inactive door of a pair of double swinging doors. The flush bolt mechanism includes the male member (trigger) of a door latch combination with the female bolt receiving plate or strike positioned in the opposing active door. While a major portion of the flush bolt mechanism is mounted on what is termed the free side of the inactive door, an additional latch bolt and guide mechanism are connected to the flush bolt mechanism by a long linkage to provide a locking bolt that is normally received in a second strike positioned in the lentil of the doorway.
Flush bolt mechanisms are shown and described at U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,005,886; 4,445,717; and 5,076,620.
With a double set of swinging doors, the space between opposing door jambs, in the walls in which the doors are mounted, should provide for clearance between the jamb and the pivoting side of each of the opposing doors plus clearance between the free sides of the opposing doors. Heretofore, the preferred way of adjusting the doors and the door locking mechanisms thereon for a double set of swinging doors has included shimming the hinges in the door jambs. As the clearances in a double set of swinging doors are greater than that found in a single swinging door, a need has developed for a new and improved means of adjusting a door bolt mechanism to accommodate varying clearances found on site between the double swinging doors and the door sash.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention, generally stated, to provide a new and improved flush bolt mechanism for a dual swinging door assembly.
The invention resides in a flush bolt mechanism for mounting on the free edge of one of a pair of swingable doors which provides latch bolt engagement between those doors when they are in a closed position mounted in their associated sash. The flush bolt mechanism comprises frame means including a generally flat surface adapted for flush mounting on the free end of one of the pair of swingable doors. The generally flat surface has an aperture therethrough. The invention further includes trigger means mounted for reciprocal movement on the frame means perpendicularly to the generally flat surface and positioned to extend through the first aperture for providing a latch bolt between the pair of swingable doors. The reciprocal mounting of the trigger means includes an extended position wherein the trigger means is adapted for engagement with a strike in the opposing one of a pair of swingable doors. It also includes a retracted position wherein a distal end of the trigger means is withdrawn to a position of non-engagement of a strike on the opposing one of a pair of swingable doors. The invention includes means on the frame means for adjusting the extended position of the trigger means to accommodate differences in the space between the free ends of the swingable doors.